The Viterbo Effect
An Enduring Legacy of Service and Leadership
At Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, students don’t just earn a degree—they discover who they’re called to be. Grounded in our Catholic, Franciscan values and more than 130 years of tradition, a Viterbo education is deeply personal, purpose-driven, and rooted in service. It’s the Viterbo Effect: where academic excellence meets compassion, where students are seen, supported, and inspired to grow. It’s where ethical leadership is cultivated and where service becomes a way of life. Here, students leave not only prepared for their careers but ready to lead lives of impact.
A Campus Community That Welcomes All
Viterbo is committed to creating a campus environment where all are welcome, recognized, understood, and respected. This culture is rooted in the Franciscan core value of hospitality and reflects Viterbo’s priority of fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for all students, employees, and honored guests. The Sr. Thea Bowman Center advances these efforts by providing resources that promote education, human dignity, and social justice.
Educating the Whole Person
At Viterbo University, educating the whole person means supporting each student’s academic, personal, and professional growth. Our expert faculty and caring staff provide individualized attention, helping students discover their strengths and purpose.
Through academics, the core curriculum, co-curricular experiences, and community engagement, Viterbo students learn about themselves and others within the context of a diverse, global society. Teaching and learning combine a strong liberal arts foundation with applied experiences such as internships, clinical placements, student teaching, research and creative projects, study abroad, and our Honors Program.
Beyond the classroom, our students also grow through faith formation, fine arts, student publications, leadership development, clubs and organizations, recreation, and Viterbo’s NAIA Division II athletic programs.
Serving the Common Good
Viterbo's mission is to prepare students for faithful service and ethical leadership to make a difference in the world. This commitment is woven throughout all our programs in education, business, nursing, counseling, dietetics, social work, interpreting, humanities, sciences, and the arts.
Viterbo offers one of the only Master of Arts in Servant Leadership degrees in the country, providing a distinctive pathway for students who want to lead with compassion and purpose. The Center for Professional Learning extends this mission beyond campus by delivering customized servant leadership education to nonprofit, industry, and public service organizations.
Through the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership, Viterbo fosters regional dialogue, education, and research on ethical ideas and issues. The Casagrande Institute for Higher Education Effectiveness also advances the common good by partnering with private, nonprofit colleges and universities to align performance with their missions.
Transforming Communities
Since its founding in 1890, Viterbo University has strived to meet the evolving needs of the La Crosse, Wisconsin region and the broader communities it serves through mission-aligned centers and institutes, programming, and partnerships. Today, the university continues to have a transformational impact by:
- Securing more than $12.5 million in federal and foundation grants to train health care professionals, improve rural communities, and prevent domestic violence
- Connecting students, faculty, and alumni with nearly 3,000 hours of service opportunities annually
- Welcoming more than 90,000 guests each year to our Fine Arts Center and Conservatory for the Performing Arts
- Building mutually beneficial partnerships with organizations across the greater La Crosse area
- Collaborating with the La Crosse Boys & Girls Clubs and the Weber Center for the Performing Arts to expand arts education and youth programming
- Partnering with health care systems, educational institutions, nonprofits, and employers to foster transformational change